Eighteen law enforcement agencies destroyed the home while attempting to serve a DUI warrant against 36-year-old David M. Cady Jr.
The deputies and Cady were engaged in a three-day standoff as authorities believed the suspect had purchased ammunition from Pennsylvania in preparation for a confrontation with the police.
Tompkins County Sheriff Ken Lansing said that the man was convinced that he would go to jail after missing court dates for a DUI over the summer.
Cady died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to autopsy results, after being barricaded for three days in that house. His wife, Melissa, and two sons were not harmed.
The house, however, looks like it has been struck by a tornado, with no external walls and pieces of wood, windows, insulation and other material all over the yard.
Around 150 law enforcement and emergency personnel participated in the operation.
Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department issued a statement on Tuesday defending itself in causing such damages.
“Eventually, law enforcement knew and anticipated needing to enter the residence, in order to take the subject into custody,” the statement insisted. “Based upon the information being developed through interviews and practices used by other agencies in the past, it became necessary to breech part of the outside area of the house to ensure the safety of all involved.”
Danby Federated Church pastor Ed Enstine told online news site the Ithaca Voice that the Cady family was now homeless.
“She really has lost all the stability in her life in one fell swoop, so she will have to go through quite a period of readjustment,” Enstine said of Melissa Cady. “It’s pretty traumatic — this is awful stuff we’re dealing with.”
According to the pastor, Cady’s wife worked in the service industry and had little extra money to recover from the tragedy.
“She’s basically lived her own life and worked and doesn’t take handouts very easily, but in this case she’s basically back to square 1 … square 0, at this point,” he explained.
The church was planning a chicken and biscuit dinner on Friday to take donations for the family.
“We’re all just trying to figure out how to do something,” Enstine noted, adding that the church had already given her a small amount of money to get by.
“She’s going to need a lot more than that,” he said.
